Machine tool construction



Dec. l, 1959 E. w. BERGMANN MACHINE Tool. coNsTRUcTIoN 4Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed May 5, 1950 I ATTO/FNEVS R. m m m Dec. l, 1959 E. w. BERGMANN MACHINE Toor. CONSTRUCTION original Filed Nay" s, 195o 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. l, 1959 E. w. BERGMANN MACHINE Toor. CONSTRUCTION 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed May 3, 1950 NIKS IN VEN TOR W. ery/afm Dec. l, 1959 E. w. BERGMANN A2,914,990

MACHINE Tool. CONSTRUCTION Original Filed May 3, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 36 Y 0 /4 7 INVENTOR.

[rvr/* W, 9e/yawn BY f United States Patert O 2,914,990 MACHINE Toor-.CONSTRUCTION v Erick'W.k Bergmann, Monroe, Mich.

original application Mays, 1950, serial No. 159,833, now Patent No'.` 2,729,144; datedv January 3, 1956. Divided and this application December 27, 1955, SerialNoL 555,430r

s claims. (cl. 941-11) tool speeds; providing for increased operating accuracy l of the tools carried by this tool holder by mounting the tool holder itself in. a systemfof bearings locatedl around the peripheryof 4 the tool holder; and preferably incorporating meansfor uniformly controlling the operating temperature of these bearings;

In combination. withthese improvements ,inl a` tool` holder, `thepinvention contemplates theuuse of a rotary or drum typework holder assembly, whichl includes a demountable chuck having provision for mounting a plurality of work clampswhich are successively brought into the path of travel of the` tools by rotary movement of the chuck.` Thework holderfassembly` .employed ernbodies improvements .in construction and mounting, par,- ticularly of the chuck and work.clamps,for the purpose of increasing the capacity voithese parts to withstand tool reaction forces, decreasing the down time of the machine in changing the set up for a different work piece or replacement of parts, decreasing'theielect ofnormalwear upon the operating accuracyof the machine, and simplifyingthe overhauling fof the machine to correctfor Wear. The general arrangement .ofj the machine is such that a plurality of Workv holder assemblies can be employed in combinationwith asingle tool holder and here the invention involves the use o f a .simplified driving 4arrangement between tool and workholders to give synchronized operation thereof togetherrwith. control of ratesof feed and of the relativedirection ofgrotation of thetool to the work piece carried by any single work holder assembly.. f ,p p This combination of featuresV offersl in particular` one solution to the problem'of fully exploiting the working capacity of the improved'materials currently available for both abrasive andr cutting-tools. High tool Vspeeds can be attained, high` tool reaction forces canl bevabsorbed without lossy off accuracy and practicallycontinuous-operation of the tools isv secured. Together these results mean a potentialrate of production fait beyond Vthat. attinable with machines of existing.design.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated andftobe described in detail herein consists of a milling machine which, intheL following specilication, will be described generally followed by a specificKV description oftheV tool holder anda specific" description lofthe work `lliolder 7assembly eniplyed.` L g In Athe accompanyihg drawings, the machine-"in gener'al is shown inl-Tige. l and 2, the tool" holder in Figs. 3 "and 8, and the work holder 'assemblyand parts lthereof main shaft 11.

A. detailed description of. thesieyriousf views is `as follows: Y

Fig. 1 is aside elevation of the machine;`

Fig. 2 is. an end elevationof the machine shown. in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a section taken along the line 3 3 ofV Pig. 2, showing the tool holder and.` associated parts;

Fig. 4 is a section taken along the line 5--5 of Fig. 2

its housingand driving mechanism;

rFig.5 is an elevation of a portion of` a polygonal. faced chuck of a work holder assembly showing two adjacent faces thereof-onelface ivith` a work clamp 'attached theretoV and the' adjacent face plain or. without a'work Clamp:

Fig. 6 is a planvietv Vof the plain face of the chuck of Fig. 5 to` show the=keys provided for locating .a work clamp; V, f

Fig.'7 is an elevation schematically illustrating. the outline of a fewv representative forms of. polygonal faced chucks; and f i .to show the construction` of the worlv holder assembly,

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary elevation ofa tool holder 'to p main driving shaft or spindle 111 of the; machine "are lo"- cated within anL outer cover 12, the spindlef11` 'being mounted in three bearings".13a, 13band 13C.v Thisspin'- dle` 11.is. connected tof an` assembly comprising al ily wheel 1S and a circular' tool? holder v1't,-.the tool holder being supported'in a main"` ver'tical Bedplate' or :housing member 14 at the working end ofthe machine by bear?- in'gs as shown in'iietail in- Fig; 3; l A stub shaft 1121"?` extends outwardly from the center' of: the tool holder -1f6 into a central geai box 17; from'` Where the drive'is carried to therwork holders bynreansrwhichwill be present# ly described: Two' work holder assemblies,reach including a rotaryf chuck` 18; are'used` in the form 'of Linaclztine illustrated; They.' 'are` shown `in'ftheir general relationship toftherfres't ofk thesmachinein Fig`s3"l"and 2` and iii greater Vdetail in Figt 4. f-

The` drivei'to' the Vspiidle lfis byVLbelts from nbutput pulley 120` on therriotorA 10;' `tliroiglrpulley/S2121'and 122 on. a kcountershaft 112,1,tothellargez pulley 44 'onthe Countershafty 112V is' mounted"v in bearings- 111a`: and 11d-b. Ii1"'addition1to"the verticalf'housing 14; the construction of' the'machinel frame includes a horizontalv basemember 110 which supports the motor plates being cut away toaccommo'date the motor 10 andY other vdrive units.` Platel115'is'provided-.with a cen'- tral aperture 116to receive the bearinglb, and isf-interconnected Withthe housing` 1'4' by a numb'e'rl'ofspa'ced bracingbars 117. Thebearing 'bracket 1 18 is `braced tothis structure' byaihorizontal platev '119up'onwhich the bearings V13a and 13b rest'.`

At the working end of the machine, th'efran'i'econ- `sists `oltranother lpedestal icomprising-the vertical members 123 i and2.124; horizontal plate" 125 landV "end plates 51284', andtwovpair of fhorizontal 'bars 126' which projectotl wardly' fronr'they main housing n114, each i ba'r vextending through th'e housing 14l and being' carried by the housing and 'af-braekvmmbea1lz1 mount'edthe'reon. j p

Each chuck 18 isbarried b'y a housing 19 mounted Ways 21 of a carriage 22'. The carriage 22 is mounted upon a pair of transverse 'bars 23, these bars extending between a pair of plates 24 mounted on the front pedestal of `the frame, which form part of the main. frame lof the machine. This method of mounting provides for both longitudinal and lateral movement of each'housing 19 and'work chuck 18, longitudinal movement tak- :ingplace along the V-ways 21 in response to movement of a hand wheel 25 carried by a shaft 26 which is provided with a Vthreaded portionto engage a nut 27 depending from the base plate A20. Lateral movement takesplace along the bars 23 in responsev to rotation of a hand wheel 28 carried by a shaft 29.extending.between the pair of parallel bars' 23 and likewise engaging a nut (not shown) depending from the supporting carriage 22. i An upper adjustable connection is providedbetween each housing 19 and the frame of the machine'to further stabilize the housingyet allow the longitudinal and lateral change in the position thereof, this .connection comprising a pair of slotted links 130 connected at spacedpoints to bosses on the outerface of each housing by boltsj131 and 132, with each pair of links being secured at a common point 133 to a carriage 134. One carriage 134 is slidably mounted on each of the pair'of horizontal bars 126 and can be held in xed position along the bars by clamp screws 135; f

The vdrive to eachV work holder housing is identical. The stub driving shaft 11a carries a worm 30 located-within the central gear box 17 andv engaging a worm gear 31 mounted upon a transversely extending shaft 32. Shaft 32 extends outwardly from each side ofthe gear box 17 and each extending portion of this shaft is splined to engage one end 34 of a universal joint 35, the other end of which is similarly splined to engage the end of a shaft 36 extending from the work holder housing 19. The universal joint 3S and its splined connection to shafts `32 and 36 permit limited longitudinal and lateral movement of each work holder housing sutlicient to allow for all normal adjustments.

Reference should now be made to Fig. 4 which shows the construction of 4each work holder housing and the `driving means employed' to translate rotary movement of the shaft 36 to rotary movement of eachchuck 18. Shaft 36 carries va worm 37 ,which engages a worm gear 38 ykeyed to a shaft 39. One'of a pair of driving gears. 40 and 41 is removably mounted .upon the outer end of shaft. 39, the other gear being similarly mounted upon the .corresponding end of the work holder drive shaft 42.

Gears 40 and 41 are what may be termed the change speed -gears of the machine, Vand while a one-to-one ratio be- -tween. these gears is illustrated' in the drawings, other .ratios may be employed, according to the feed speed re- -quirement for the material of the work piece. n Since the details of the construction of the chuck 18 an its housing will be fully described later in this specification under the heading .Work` holder assemblyfit is suffijcient for the present to state that the chuck 18 is mounted so as to be `driven by rotation of its drive shaft 42; and, as shown in Fig. 2, each chuck 18 carries a number of special purpose clamps or work engaging fixtures 43, which,.through rotation of the chuck, are successivelyadvanced into the path of travel of the tools carried bylthe tool holder 16. rAs can be seen from Fig. 2, the working diameter of the path of travelof work pieces (not shown) carried by the xtures 43 is. approximately of the same order as the working diametery of the' tools carried by .the tool holder 16.

The relative. rate of rotation between chuck 18 and tool holderl establishes the feed, or. rate of advance of the workl piecetowardsthe path of travel of the tool, which can bevaried, for'y a given rate ofrotation'of the tool holder, by changing the ratioof thegears 40 and 41.'V The directionof rotation of the tools relative to the work piece 1s also controllable-by vthe useornon-use of the optional system of change speed gearing illustratedon the left hand work holder of Fig. 2. Here, driving gears 40a and 41a, of smaller diameter than the corresponding gears 40 and 41, are employed in combination with an intermediate idler or reverse gear 45, to change the direction of rotation of this Iworkholder drive shaft 42 from that established by the normal gear train previously described. Thus, in Pig. 2, if it is assumed that a clockwise rotation is imparted to the tool holder 16 by the driving motor 10, and that the drive from the stub shaft 11a to the work holder drive shafts 42 is such that a counterclockwise direction of rotation is normally imparted to each chuck 18, the optional use of the gears 40a, 41a and 45 will result in the left hand chuck being turned in a clockwise direction. This means that themachine may be operated for either a climb or conventional milling operation upon the work pieces carried by any chuck independently of the type of milling being performed upon the work pieces of any other chuck. n n 4 In order that the proper speed may be obtained vfor the type of tool being used and composition of the work upon which such tool is acting,` the driving motor 10 may be of a variable speed type or, if-preferred, a variable speed coupling may be used between the 'driving motor and spindle 11 in place of the pulleys, countershaft and V-belts shownin Fig. 1. 'f i' The general arrangement of themachine is designed to permit high tool speeds with relativelyjlow rates of` ro'- tation of the vcomponent parts of' thef'machine, these high tool velocities being obtained by the large diameter of the tool holder made possible by the overall design of the machine. This large diameter tool holder also-makes it possible to employ the large drum orrotiary type of chucks used so that new work is continuously presented to the cutting tools, and second, so that thesecutting tools may be acting upon a plurality of work pieces simultane' ously. A further advantage accruing from the use of theY large diameter tool holder is that it permits the y wheell 15 to be mounted directly to the tool holder structure where its momentum will be instantly available to aid in sustaining a uniform speed of the tools, without inducing any stresses in driving members as is the case where an energy storing device ismounted at some point in the driving train remote from the place where load changes occur. Details of the fly wheel and its'mounting are given under the section Tool Holder of this specification.

While only two work holder assemblies are employed in the design of machine i1lustrated,-it is to be recognized that it will vbe readily possible to furnish additional assemblies, depending upon the space ravailable in the path of the cutting tools, this, of course, being determined by the actual dimension selectedV for the diameter ofthe tool holder. However, the actual number of chucks and work carriers simultaneously usable will also depend upon the size of the work piece vand its positioning upon the chuck. i

It may, lin some cases, also be` desirable to design' the machine so that the tool holder and `chucks are mounted upon vertical axes rather than horizontal axes as shown, in order either to provide for additional work holder assemblies or to facilitate'the handling ofthe particular type of article'tobe carried by the chuck4 of such assemblies. In this connection, it should at all time's'be borne in mind that a machine of this type is regarded p rimarliy as a special purpose machine and 'willusually be designed and constructed to foperate on some particular'high production article. l f

Tool holder As previously mentioned, the tool holder isv mounted for rotation in bearings carried by the main housing member 14 of the machine. Details of this construction are shown in Fig. 3. Preferably the tool holder is constructed in two pieces-an outer disc which carries the cutting tools 51 and anI inner disc .52 which is connected to the y wheel 15. These two discs are oonantigeni neeted by bolts 53 andthe outer disc #'50 :carries the stub driving shaft 11a while the innerrdisc 52 is secured toa ilange 54 formed at the end of the spindle 1.1. vInner ydisc 52 is formed with a threaded portion 55, adapted to be engaged by an adjusting nut 56- and a locking nut 57, and a tapered cylindrical portion 58, the 'tapered portion thereof engaging a similarly tapered bushing 59, which constitutes one of the main radial Abearings of the tool holder assembly. A thrust bearing 60 is located between the inner surface of the housing member 14 and the adjusting nut 56.

The louter ldisc 50 is formed with a shoulder 61 and a tapered surface 62, the shoulder forming a recess into which a second thrust bearing 63 is tted, and the tapered surface 62 engaging a similarly tapered bushing 64 which constitutes the second main radial bearing ofthe assembly. Inner and outer dust seals 69 and 70, respectively, are employed for the protection of this system of bearings. A circular recess 65 is formed in the housing 14 so that a fluid carrying conduit 66 may be mounted adjacent the bushing 59 and a second recess 67'is formed in the housing so that similar Huid carrying conduit 68 may be positioned adjacent the bushing 64. Means for circulating fluid through these conduits is not shown as satisfactory devices of this type are well known and Icommercially available, along with devices and systems for controlling the temperature of the fluid. Primarily,` the purpose of the conduits and function of the iluid circulated therethrough is to insure that the temperature of the bearings will -be maintained at substantially equal values around the bearing surface so that warpage or distortion due, to unequal temperature distribution will not occur.

The outer disc 50 mounts a tool positioning ring 71 which is preferably provided with a tapered outer surface 72 to engage the butt end of the tools when the same are placed at their proper cutting angle. This ring correctly positions the tools radially of the holder and serves as a reference point so that all toolsmay be ground to the same length. No specific means for clamping the cutting tools to the outer ,disc is shown in Fig. 3. There are several devices commercially available for this purpose and the` selection of the proper means will depend to some extent upon Vthe type of tool being employed, but for purposes of illustration, a representative clamping device is illustrated in Fig. 8. In this form, the outer disc 50 is shaped with a series of teeth or serrations 75, each having a positioning face 76 and a wedging face 77.

A tool 7S is firmly held between the face 76 and the face l 79 of a tool clamp 80, the clamp having a wedging face similar to face 77 and being urged into engagement therewith by a clamp screw 81. Y

The outer disc is preferably made as a separate member so that it can be removed from the machine for making tool changes or so that alternative types of outer discs may be employed for various tool set-ups, depending upon the work to be done. Since the connection between the stubv shaft 11a and the worm 30 carried thereby is a splined one, the outer disc can be readily removed by simply removing the bolts 53 which connect it to the inner disc and the bolts 73` which connect it to the stub shaft 11a, and sliding the disc 50 and'stub shaft outwardly from the face plate 14 of the machine.

Several types of tool set-up may be employed in a machine of this kind in addition to the single ring of cutting tools shown. For example, this ring rof tool blades may be composed of alternate roughing and finishing tools with the finishing tool set inwardly and aboveto the extent of the depth of the finishing cut-the roughing tool; or, the composition of the ring could consist of a milling cutter in combination with a honing tool for iinishing the surface of the Work. Another type would be where a second ring of tools are employed to mill a surface at a different level from that acted upon by the outer ring of tools. A fourth illustration would be where abrasive creeis are mounted upon Vthe mp1 helder, in xieu lof the {cuttin'gtools shown, to Vperform a grindingrathr than a milling-operation. n v 4 The design and mounting of this ltool holder makes it possible to have tools operating on a large working ldiameterV s'o that high speeds can be obtained with relatively .flow velocities of the rotating parts of the machine and `without loss of accuracy o f the 4Vmachine. With coriventi'onal n methods of mounting tools,y large working diameters of the tools cannot be obtained without sacriiicing the accuracy of Ythe machine and without employing excessively large shafts, due to the fact that inconventional practice, the .tool holder is supported by thev bearings Whichengage its driving lshaft and the tools located outwardly of the bearingsb with a cantilever type of support. Therefore, a large component of the tool reaction force is radial, distorting the tool holder and aggravating bearingvwear. With the present construction, the supporting bearings for the tool holder are located approximately at, or outwardly of the area where the reaction between the tool and work piece occurs and the entire tool holder is fixed against radial and axial movement. The support of the tools is of the simple beam type rather than cantilever, and greater bearing area can be provided for the transmission of reaction forces to the stationary structure of the machine. These differences from conventional practice in mounting the tool holder make it possible to achieve high tool velocities with complete cutting accuracy and with prolonged tool life because of the fact that the tool holder is precisely held against movement due to tool reaction.

Work holder assembly Each chuck 18 is attached to a driving spindle 85 by a key 86 and a series of bolts 87, the spindle being formed with a cylindrical pilot surface 88 and a pair of tapered surfaces 89. Similar cylindrical and tapered surfaces 88a and 89a are internally formed in the chuck v18'. The spindle is secured to the main drive shaft '42.by bolts 90 lextending through a ange 91 formed at vthe outer end of the latter and 'the spindle rotates upon a bearing carrier member 92 which is secured `to the vertical bearing plate 102 of the housing by bolts. 93. This bearing carrier 92, in addition to providing a journal 94 for the shaft 42, also provides a spindle thrust bearing 95 and an inner radial bearing 96 which is engaged by an inner cylindrical surface 97 of the spindle. ,Thespindle is also Vformed with an outer cylindrical surface ,98 which engages an outer radial bearing 99 carried within a cylindrical recess 100 of the housing proper. A thrust bearing 101 is positioned between the outer surface-of the housing plate 102 and the surface 103 of the spindle, and a second thrust bearing 104 is positioned adjacent the inner face of the housing plate 102, and held in position by a spacer 105 and adjusting .and locking nuts 106 and 107.4 These' nuts engage a threaded portion 108 formed on the drive shaft 42 and serve to retain the shaft 42 and spindle 85 upon the housing.

InV addition tothe vertical bearing plate v102 and base plate 20 having transverse attaching `ribs 109 and 140,' the construction of the housing includes an intermediate vertical plate 141 which'cariies bearings.142`and 143 for the shafts 39 and 42 respectively. This intermediate plate 141 is removably secured to the transverse rib 140 of the base plate and to an outer wall section 144 attached to the plate 102. A second outer wall section 145 is carried by the vertical plate 141 and the construction of the housing is completed by an end plate 146 attached to the section 145 and to the rib 109 by bolts 147.

The relationship of these various parts which comprise the work holder and housing assembly may perhaps be better understood from a brief discussion of the manner' in which these parts are preferably assembled. Assuming that all parts are in disassambled relationship, in-

cluding the removal of the end plate 146 and intermediate plate 141 from the housing assembly, the drive shaft 42 isinserted within the core of the spindle 85 and the ange 91 of the shaft secured to the spindle by the bolts 90. After the bearing carrier 92 has beensecured to lthe vertical plate 102 of the housing by the bolts 93 and the thrust bearing 101 has been placed in position, the shaft 42 and spindle 85 can be inserted within the journal 94 from the right in Fig. 4 and the thrust bearing 104 and spacer 105 can be slipped over the inner end of the shaft. The adjusting and retaining nut 106 is screwed upon the` threaded portion 108 of the shaft 42 to secure the shaft and spindle in a position for proper rotary motion upon the housing and bearing carrier. This posi- .tion is maintained by locking nut 107. It is' believed that the method of assembling the remaining parts, comprising the driving train to the shaft 42, and the housnig 4chuck 18 by screws 82 received in threaded holes 83 therein.

The construction and mounting of the chuck 18 allows considerable latitude in its design for the accommodation of the particular type, size and number of work pieces to be machined, and also provides for ready removal of the chuck 18 from the machine should this become desirable for any reason, such as to change over to a dilfferent chuck and work clamp set-up. Such a change may involve the use of a different design of clamp to hold another work piece, and/or a dilferent style of chuck such as one of the other types of polygonal faced chucks 18a, 18b or 18e, schematically shown for illustrative purposes in Fig. 7. Each chuck is preferably constructed so that any work clamp designed within the dimensional limits established by the overall specifications of the machine and style vof chuck selected, may be constructed so that it can be precisely located upon and attached to the chuck and the new chuck and clamp set-up assembled awayfrom the machine. Each face 46of a chuck is formed with two intersecting keyways 47 and 48. In the illustration given in Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings, these keyways are located at a 90 angle of intersection, with a key 49 being located in the keyway 48 and two keys 74 in the keyway 47, all keys being vsecured by screws 139. These keys thus establish a xed location of the work clamp 43 when similar keyways 84 are formed in its mating surface.

The actual operation of changing the chuck on the machine is facilitated by cylindrical pilot surfaces 88 and 88a provided on the spindle 85 and chuck respectively since the engagement of these surfaces will cause the weight of the chuck to be supported by the machine structure while the chuck is being properly positioned for insertion of the attaching bolts 87.

When the machine is in operation, each chuck is continuously rotated, as distinguished from an indexing type of movement commonly employed in present practice with chucks for holding a series of articles, either Work pieces or tools. Therefore, wear on the bearings of the work holder assembly is evenlyY distributed and no problem exists in operating the machine in such a way as to avoid the localized wear that can occur in the guides of reciprocating tables. Furthermore, in the present machine, after wear has occurred in any of the major operating parts to a suflicient extent that the machining operation cannot be held within the limits of accuracy desired, it is possible to return the machine to its original degree of accuracy by the relatively simple overhaul procedure of installing and working in new bearing surfaces where required.

Due to the fact that, as previously mentioned, the machine of the invention is primarily intended for use as a high production special purpose unit, its overall design and specific arrangement of component parts, particularly the tool and work holder assemblies may vary considerably in actual practice. The specific embodiment of the invention described herein is, therefore, intended only as representative of the construction of a machine incorporating the features described.

This application is a division of 159,833 tiled May 3, 1950, and now Patent No. 2,729,144.

I claim:

l. A machine tool having frame structure including a housing member having a wall, a circular aperture extending through said wall, a milling tool having a cylindrical body and circular series of cutter bits mounted on the outer end face thereof, said body being of substantially the same thickness as said wall and situated in said aperture and housed by said wall, bearing surfaces on said tool body intermediate the end faces thereof and complementary bearing surfaces on the said apertured portion of said wall for mounting said tool body in said aperture, the radial distance of said cutter bits from the center of rotation of said tool body being substantially equal to the radial distance of said bearing surfaces from said center of rotation, and driving means carried by said frame structure for rotating said tool body in said wall.

2. A machine tool construction according to claim 1 wherein said Ibearing surfaces include oppositely facing radially extending surfaces on said wall and said tool body.

3. A machine tool construction according to claim l wherein said bearing surfaces rotatably support said tool body in said aperture independently of said driving means.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

